Inside, Outside, Upside-down

The answers given by Jesus completely mystify Nicodemus because he is trying to fit them into his existing system, the categories he already knows, in order to understand them.

It takes him awhile to realize that with Jesus, the system has changed, the usual expectations are turned upside-down.

Today we move on to chapter 4 of the Gospel of John, and this time it is an unnamed woman at a well in Samaria whom Jesus encounters, and her world and expectations are turned upside down.

Two stories, back to back.

In addition to one being male and the other female, there are other differences between these two characters.

Chief among them is this:

Nicodemus is a religious insider, one who has been raised in all the right traditions, a teacher, from the ruling group.

The un-named woman is an outsider.

First of all, as a female, she could not take an active part in the religious life of the community, which would have put her outside the fence at the Temple, had she been able to go there, and likely divided off to one side or in a balcony at the local synagogue.

On top of that, she was considered an outcast from the faith because of the ancient animosity between Jews and Samaritans, even though they are genetic and religious cousins.

And further, she has been married 5x already, and has a new live-in man now.

She was at the well in the middle of the day; that is not the expected time.

Scripture doesn't say, but folks have speculated that she came during the day in order to avoid the gossip-makers who would be around early in the morning or late in the evening.

“Just leave me alone” might be her motivation ...but Jesus seeks her out and strikes up a conversation with her while she is drawing water.

She didn't have any intention of having a theological discussion with anyone that day, but her encounter with Jesus turns out to be one of the most interesting in the Gospel.

It ends with her running to tell some friends:

“Come see a man who told me everything I ever did! He can't be the Messiah, can he?”

When we start to review the various Jesus-stories in the Gospel, it suddenly dawns on us that Jesus seems to have a better chance with someone who is an outsider.

Insiders try to figure him out on the terms that they know and understand.

But Jesus seeks out the outsiders and engages them.

He gets in all kinds of trouble for spending so much time and attention on them, the uniformed, the unfaithful, the uncommitted.

“This man receives sinners and eats with them,” is the great charge against Jesus.

“The Son of Man” came to seek and save the lost” was Jesus regular reply.

And we are surprised to discover that not only is Jesus is still very busy with that same task,

there are two kinds of people who are “lost” -- insiders and outsiders.

The insiders may know lots of the lingo and the procedures., but that doesn't give them an inside track with Jesus.

Insiders sometimes make outsiders feel inadequate or second-rate, or marginalized.

We shouldn't ever do that, since the Gospels make clear that Jesus is especially interested in the outsiders.

As we think about it more intently, we realize that this gathering is not as complete as it should be if there are only insiders here without any outsiders being sought by Jesus.

And this is a situation which everyone can help to change.

The method is “invitation.”

The conversations that we have with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and others are not only our words;

they are words spoken on behalf of Jesus when we say as does Philip to Nathaniel in John 1, “Come and see!”

Somewhere down the line, someone who looks back to the time that the invitation was first given to him or her

may recognize that his/her world turned upside down when Jesus' word came.

Personal achievement, while very important to the functioning of family and community is not the source of salvation.

We cannot accumulate merit badges to make us worthy of membership in the Kingdom of God.

That is the way that other religions are structured, but not the Christian faith.

Our way of living and loving in the name of Jesus flows from our thanksgiving to God for all of the gifts which he grants to us.

This includes the grace given at Holy Baptism.

Breanna, our baptismal candidate for Easter this year, will be baptized not because she has a beautiful smile, or that she works hard in school, or that she listens to her parents,

but because God is saying to her through this congregation, “I choose you, Breanna, to be mine.”

And her world is turned upside-down.

The Samaritan woman, whose world was upset so long ago, has continued to have influence people all across the centuries.

Someone centuries ago made up a name for her.

St. Photini she is called in the Orthodox countries; literally she is “the enlightened one,” the one reached so effectively by Christ Jesus, and whose life was so greatly transformed.

If there was hope for her, perhaps there is for us also.

We, too, have things that have not gone well in our lives.

We, too, have slipped around quietly so as not to call attention to our frailties and failings.

We, too, have been outsiders whom Jesus has welcomed.

He seeks us out, engages us, and begins the conversation that will continue throughout life.

He gives us what we need.

And when we begin to act like insiders, then he challenges us, prods us, maybe confuses us, and pushes us off balance so that we will be drawn to journey with Jesus to a new experience of faith in him.

One of the wonderful things about our process called The Way is that it provides time and space for that conversation to develop.

As we reflect on this morning's scriptures in light of the challenges of our daily lives, with the eyes and ears of faith we see how things are quite different because of Jesus' word.

That is the good news for us.

Jesus has looked us up and has started to talk.

So let's enjoy the conversation!

Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.